Vine International and the McCutcheons serving those who serve by delivering medical supplies to medical ministries in Guatemala.

What a blessing yesterday…

15/09/2011

In the midst of teams and elections here, a container sneaked in to the bodega from Wheels of Hope (www.wheelsofhope.org) in Ohio. Pat Rimke and his team of volunteers send some of the best stuff, wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, Rollators (rolling walkers with seat and brakes), commode and shower chairs. Wheels of Hope’s first project outside of the USA was in Guatemala about 1988. Please go to their site and read their history. At top of page if you know who you are looking for you will see Woody Woodson, Vine International founder. Vine feels very blessed to provide shipping and dispersal site for the mission of Wheels of Hope. Partnership is not the right word for the relationship, it is more like brothers locked shoulder to shoulder to get the work of harvest done.

Pat this is for all our friends at Wheels of Hope in particular… Today (Wed., 14th Sept.) we met Stephanie Hawley and a group of men from Nicky Cruz Foundation hospital, Holy Ghost Hospital (you have to love the name!). Stephanie always goes by her butcher, San Martin Bakery or some other FOOD place before she comes to the warehouse. (Sorry Bruce and Woody, we would share if it were possible, chuckle). She is a “get-r-done” kind of sister that makes herself available to a number of ministries in local churches in central Guatemala, prisons, and medical facilities that actively share Jesus Christ. She recently brought Holy Ghost Hospital (HGH) to our attention. HGH is a ministry of Nicky Cruz Foundation. It is a rehabilitation facility for drug and alcohol addicts. They are in an improvement/expansion phase. I asked her to dinner in Antigua with recent Vine International team. During the evening I told her of the wheelchairs, etc in the bodega and we made an appointment. She brought her small truck and we loaded her up (she had made trip to the butcher and we got a very large, very nice beef tenderloin as a gift – hey food is a theme in Guatemala). Stephanie has the feminine shopping gene and is always looking for more for those God brings to her. She mentioned a need for hospital beds at HGH. You do not know the joy that Cindy and I have when we can say, “Sister, bring a bigger truck next week!” with thanks to Wheels of Hope!!

So yesterday four men, brothers in the LORD, all graduates of Nicky Cruz rehabilitation program follow Stephanie out of that bigger truck. Every man in the photos with us has accepted Jesus as Savior and is living a victorious life over their former addiction, including the physician who now lives in the facility among his patients. Once these men get to a certain level they are required to take care of the new arrivals with their delirium, diarrhea, wet beds and cursing abuse. Some have tried to get out of that chore but are told they need to see what they were like when they came in and they need to serve the now wounded. (Read the story of The Good Samaritan Luke 10:30-37 again – he dressed the wounds not the inn keeper. Is it time for us to get our hands dirty for our Redeemer?)

All the smiles, hand shakes, embraces – they are our family after all. The work began (photos here). Three beds went to Hospital Atitlan last week and all the remaining beds went out yesterday to Holy Ghost Hospital. Over bed tables, side rails, mattresses – complete top quality units will serve some of the neediest people in Guatemala. This facility takes those the national system refuses on occasions. They have 150 residents at this time and are in painting remodeling mode. An open house is scheduled for Oct 1 and Cindy and I will be attending – there will be food!.

Stay tuned. We will do an update on this ministry after the open house. To those who recently built a wall at Casa Bernabe, this is the facility I mentioned that needs a fence out back for safety of the residents. I will get more details at the grand opening October 1.

In Christ, Dennis and Cindy McCutcheon in Guatemala for Vine International.